Workplace Summit 2024: Building Adaptive Organisations

Kanika Tewari

Founder, Go Diverse

Kanika is a Leadership coach, consultant and researcher who has worked on projects in US, Europe, Japan, Korea, Africa, China, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka & South East Asia. She is a visiting faculty at leading business schools, MDI, IIFT, IMI, FORE school and others.

She is a personal coach for CXO’s for creating “The Inclusionary Leader” through expertise in Unconscious Bias, Gender Intelligence and Cultural effectiveness in Global Diversity. Kanika brings with her rich experience of working with a multinational organization in sales, marketing, HR specialist roles and Talent Management over her 19 years of experience.

Kanika mentors’ young women globally with Cherie Blaire foundation. She is the Co – Founder of ‘Destination Boardroom’– An executive leadership program for women leaders. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Inclusive Leadership. She is an alumnus of Convent of Jesus and Mary. She is a Pune University rank holder, pharma graduate from MIT. Her master of arts is in Women and Gender studies from Delhi.

Kanika is a Triathlete. A certified scuba diver and a state level table tennis player. She is an adventure enthusiast, an avid cyclist and covers long distances trails and tracks. She is married and lives in Mumbai with her husband and son.

Pallavi Pareek

Founder, Ungender

Pallavi Pareek is a distinguished DEI advocate, legal expert, and founder of Conduct, a B2B SaaS platform designed to centralize misconduct reporting and case management for global, diverse workforces. Conduct enables organizations to streamline compliance across jurisdictions, with expertise spanning over 40 countries’ legal requirements. With a track record of impact across 900 workplaces and direct support in over 6,500 POSH cases, Pallavi has guided teams ranging in size from 10 to 100,000 across 30 industry verticals.

Her extensive experience covers diverse organizational levels, from boardrooms to grassroots workforces, ensuring that Conduct and her advisory service, Ungender, can address the unique needs of both leadership and frontline employees. With a foundation in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Pallavi merges strategic and operational insights, advancing workplace safety and inclusion through innovative technology, policy advocacy, and hands-on expertise. She also contributes to public sector initiatives, including gender sensitization training for law enforcement, and is a recognized thought leader in global discussions on DEI and compliance.

Ritesh Bhardwaj

CHRO, National Bulk Handling Corporation Pvt. Ltd

Ritesh Bhardwaj is a purpose-driven, strategic, and innovative leader with functional expertise in HR policy, process & systems design, digitalization of HR, Mergers and Acquisitions, Business HR strategy, Organization development, Change management, Employee Relations – Industrial Relations, Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership development including Competency-based assessment, talent management, performance management, succession planning, organization restructuring- design, compensation &benefits and CSR. He has over 18+ years of experience in the field of HR and has worked with some of the leading names in the industry. He has worked directly with Promoters as well as Global Boards in Indian and multinational companies like – PepsiCo, KOHLER, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and Godrej Agrovet Ltd.

Currently, he is serving as the Sr. Vice President & CHRO at the renowned National Bulk Handling Corporations, responsible for the HR function of 04 group entities across Chemicals, Warehousing, Financing, and R&D. A core member of the team, he is responsible for driving the human capital & talent agenda. His strategic HR initiative is to build a talent pipeline, attract, develop, and retain high-quality talent. He is driving the leadership development initiatives to strengthen the succession pipeline. To build a sustainable organization, he is trying to build and drive an enabling culture, supporting the organization’s growth aspirations, and creating the best-in-class teams across the industry.

Previously, Ritesh worked with Godrej Agrovet Ltd., a $1.1 Bn business, looking after the Indian Agrochemical and Pharma intermediary business vertical, as Head HR – India Region. He led through rapid HR change and transformation programs for both culture & process, designed and executed organization-wide interventions to drive performance culture, led the critical Mergers and Acquisitions, and organization restructuring process. He strengthened employer branding through participation in industry and campus forums.

He has also worked as a strategic HR advisor & executive coach, aimed at using his professional expertise to give back to the industry. He regularly teaches on weekends as a guest faculty at TISS, Mumbai, and Mumbai University. His contribution to the academics as part of the Advisory Board of some of the reputed universities has been appreciated.

Ritesh holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management (EPGDHRM) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Management from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. He is a passionate motorcyclist and loves traveling.

Prasanth Nair

CHRO, Crompton Consumer

Dr D. Prasanth is a B.Tech and Doctorate from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He started his career in GEC Alsthom and had stints in the RPG Group. He headed HR for Thomas Cook and was also member of the Global HR Council of the Thomas Cook Plc. Post that, he was the Global HR head of Cipla. He is the co-founder of ZingHR a SAAS HRTech platform. He is presently the CHRO – Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited. Interested in Mathematics, Spirituality and Future of Work

Riya Dalvi

Chairperson, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, RPG Group

Weaving passion and energy at work, leading challenging assignments with a balance of empathy and results and deriving More from Less are the mantras that I live by. My personal vision is to be the best Change & Transformation expert in the world by enabling organizations and individuals to transform lives of their stakeholders. In my current role as Vice President Human Resources for CEAT RPG, I am energised by the mandate to lead multiple centres of excellence such as Hiring & Onboarding, HR Technology & Digital, Diversity & Inclusion, Employee Engagement & Branding, Performance & Rewards and HR Service Delivery with a young and talented team with diverse backgrounds.

Since April 2024; I have taken over the additional responsibility of Chairperson for RPG Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council where we are driving policies and practices to create an inclusive culture. Post my graduation in Psychology from Mumbai University, I pursued my Masters in Management Studies with a specialisation in Human Resource Development from Mumbai University. My first job was with a home appliances startup which was subsidiary of Bosch Siemens Hausegerate GmBH. Having worked 8 years with a German MNC in my foundation years taught me systems thinking and long-term orientation. My thirst for learning new things, got me to take up an assignment to lead the Learning & Development vertical with Mahindra’s Automotive business. In the next 14 years with Mahindra have received exposure to 3 different businesses – automotive, two wheelers and farm equipment; have led COEs – Learning and OD as well as led business partnering role for emerging as well as mature businesses. Have led 2 transformation projects – Led the optimisation project for Mahindra Two Wheelers post the change in business strategy and Conceptualised and Implemented the 3 tier HR structure of Business Partners, HR Shared Services and COE for Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors. Understanding traits and motives in people comes easily to me as I happen to be certified behaviour analyst (Belbin Team Roles, Occupational Personality Questionnaire, KF4D among others).

I have been engaged in working towards women empowerment in farming through an initiative called Prerna by Mahindra. I have been a member of FICCI’s Ladies wing – FLO. As I take on the new additional responsibility as Chairperson of RPG DEI Council, I am enthused with the possibility of creating a positive impact at a group wide level. Coaching people for success, leading largescale interactive processes and networking with likeminded people happen to be my area of interest.

Sahil Nayar

HR Influencer

Sahil Nayar is an HR Influncer and he was awarded the coveted Top HR Voice Award on LinkedIn, a strong testimony to his commitment to the HR and L&D fraternity across the country.

He has played various roles within HR, to name a few, HR business partnering, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Recruitment Marketing, Employer Branding amongst many others. He is a certified MBTI and NLP Practitioner, a regular columnist and visiting faculty at leading business schools across the country.

Being a certified design thinker, he loves flirting with ideas as he designs prototypes to re-define human experiences. He is a social media influencer and has been bestowed many accolades as the social media influencer of the year by SHRM and Xobin for the last 3 years.

He runs a show called #JustLikeThat on his You Tube Channel and has his own radio show on Spotify.

Madhu Sharma

Senior Director – HR, CIRCOR International

Having 17 years of rich experience across MNCs with a successful track record of HR business partnering in TCS, Reuters and Boehringer Ingelheim. Over 12 years of Strategic HR Business Partnering experience and 5 years of CoE role- co- driving business results and HR imperatives in areas of strategic HR Business Partnering, People strategy, Leadership Development, Organization and Culture transformation, Capability Building, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Compensation & benefits and Diversity & Inclusion.

Among Top 35 HR professionals announced in 2021 in T A Pai Young HR Leader Awards. Holds certification in Life & Leadership Coach, certified by Coach For Life, USA, Also, accreditation & certifications in Hogan, MBTI – B.

Currently working in Boehringer Ingelheim India (Among top 5 MNC Pharma in India,

 Global exposure of HR Business partnering
 Performance and budget turnaround for Business Unit by creating purpose, right culture, people and processes impacting in growth
 Led People Strategy 2020 & 2025 to accelerate org. growth
 Built and accelerated in-house succession readiness program for High Potentials & High performers and led Leadership capability building program
 Led HR analytics for the org. for data-based decisions from HR apps automation, digitalization, and analytics
 Led largest ever acquisition and merger for Consumer Health Care and Animal Health Business with Sanofi India w.r.t integration, people implications and transformation
 Implemented Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) impacting 100 employees
 Led to certify in Great Places To Work in India
 Setting up HR function from policies, processes to HR automation & transformation. Launched HR app and return to office app.
 Anchored middle management hiring to reinforce management depth
 Set up global processes like SuccessFactors, payroll and global shared services

Shivangi Prasad

Author, Founder, The Legal Swan and POSH, Work & Respekt

Through POSH at Work, which provides 360-degree Solutions against Sexual Harassment, Shivangi has assisted 1700+ clients on POSH law, acted as an external member of the internal committee of 200+ organizations, issued 500+ legal opinions, handled 805+ complaints and conducted 450+ training / awareness sessions with a footprint on 1,20,000+ individuals. She has spoken at 100+ events including Women Economic Forum (Kerala & Bengaluru), CII (IWN) and IE University, Spain. She was also a part of a discussion with United Nations Women and National Commission for Women on Sexual Harassment at Workplace. She is the President of Maharashtra Anti-Sexual Harassment Council, WICCI and India, Advisory Country Chair of G100, Child Care & Protection Wing.

Along with 2 Legal Books, she also loves to write on the subject. She has written 200+ blogs, some of which have been reported by Business Standard, Huffington Post etc. She has also been quoted by leading newspapers like Economic Times, Livemint and Business Standard.

Dr. Raina Khatri Tandon

CEO, RIGHT2RISE(R)

Raina Khatri Tandon has been an epitome of Woman leadership and empowerment since 24 years from designing chips integrated circuits to designing lives impacting and reinforcing Respect, Justice Discipline integrity and core values in ecosystems through her expertise. As a strong believer in women rights, she works towards safety, abuse, harassment, body shamming and online sexual assault through POSH ACT, POSCO ACT, Human & Legal rights of individuals and organisation at workplace. Raina is Founder of Right2Rise(R), India’s only ISO 21001, 17024 orgn – Top20 Posh Specialists in the country promoting inclusiveness, maintaining ethical workplaces by creating strategies with a heart.

Dr. Laxmi Todiwan

Corporate Trainer, Author and Founder Indian Women in Hospitality

Dr. Laxmi Todiwan is a Professor & HOD, Head Alumni Relations and Counsellor at the Apeejay Institute of Hospitality, the learning centre of the Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels Ltd. With over two and a half decades of experience, Dr. Todiwan has worked with top hospitality brands. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality & Hotel Administration from IHM Mumbai, a Postgraduate in Training & Development, a Master’s in Tourism Management, and a Ph.D. She has also earned certifications from prestigious institutions, including Cornell University and the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute.

As the founder of Indian Women in Hospitality (IWH), Dr. Todiwan advocates for women empowerment and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She is an accomplished corporate trainer and keynote speaker, collaborating with leading organizations and contributing monthly column in the Economic Times Hospitality World. She writes regularly for top hospitality, maritime and research journals.

With numerous publications to her name including her book Illuminating Her Way: Indian Women in Hospitality; she continues to inspire the next generation of hospitality leaders. Dr. Todiwan has received numerous accolades, including Hospitality Leader of the Year, Achievers award, Educator of the Year, along with three Guinness World Records for team events, showcasing her exceptional leadership and commitment to the hospitality industry.

Ruhie Pande

Group CHRO, Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd

Ruhie Pande is the Group Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of Marketing and Communications at Sterlite Power, with over 20 years of experience across industries like financial services, real estate, fashion retail, IT, and FMCG. She holds an M.Sc. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Birkbeck College, London. Ruhie is known for her empathy-driven leadership and her ability to build high-performance cultures. At her previous stint in Godrej Capital, she played a key role in strengthening the organization by handpicking top talent. An advocate for diversity and inclusion, she actively mentors young women leaders and is involved in several HR and leadership forums. Her contributions to HR have earned her prestigious awards, including being named one of the 100 Most Influential HR Leaders in India by CHRO Asia, and one of the leading women in HR this year by BW People.

Rajashree Sabnavis

Senior Advisor – Tax, Regulatory, Finance Ecosystems, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP

Rajeshree Sabnavis, Founder of Rajeshree Sabnavis & Associates specializes in tax advisory and transaction tax matters and has over 25 years of experience in advising clients on their cross border acquisitions and implementing the India business strategy for multinationals. She also advised multinationals including Fortune 500 companies in the areas of tax and transfer pricing,and has assisted large Indian Companies in implementing their transfer pricing across jurisdictions in the ITES sector. She works with some of the larger portfolio investors investing in India including some of the large Institutional investors in managing their tax compliance and litigation in India.

Rajeshree is a Senior Advisor with Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. She is part of the Direct Taxation Committee with the Bombay Chamber of Commerce where she is a Board member. In this capacity, she has represented India business Houses and Multinationals on various tax issues before the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

She was recognized as one of the top ten leading women tax advisors in India in a survey carried out by International Tax Review in 2015, 2017, 2018,2020, 2021 and 2023.

She is a Charter member of TEI which is part of a vibrant Ecosystem. She is also a certified Mediator having undergone the training conducted by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs. She is an Independent Director on BOB Capital Markets Ltd, a subsidiary of Bank of Baroda. She is also a certified IICA Mediator. Rajeshree is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary.